Civilized relations with Castro do not mean acquiescence
HERALD readers may have obtained an erroneous
impression that Jamaicans are enamored of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
Reporting on Castro's recent visit to Jamaica, a Herald headline read:
Castro begins Caribbean tour/ Jamaicans welcome him with pomp, ceremony.
While the predicate of the headline accurately described the official
reception, subjectively it was way off base.
Though imbued with the British traditions of free speech and democracy, most Jamaicans do not respect or admire Castro. For all 36 years of its independence, Jamaica has been led by elected prime ministers, who are subject to the often-critical pen of a very free press, led by the 200-year-old Daily Gleaner.
Cuba, by contrast, is a hostage situation. Castro and his brutal regime of repression, political prisoners, and misguided Marxism has reduced the once-proud ``pearl of the Antilles'' to the status of a mendicant. Jamaicans feel profound sympathy for the Cuban people. This includes Cubans exiled in the United States and also those incarcerated on the island under Castro's regime of ``island arrest.''
However, this begs the question: Why did Jamaica ``welcome'' Castro to the island?
The answer is a complicated one, or rather, it is a combination of complicated explanations.
The simplest explanation for Castro's cordial reception in Jamaica is
to draw an analogy between his visit and reception to the reception that
the United States recently accorded Jiang Zemin of China. Although most
Americans do not admire one of the butchers of Tiananmen Square, the
country that he represents is too large to be ignored.
It behooves us, therefore, to maintain civilized relations.
Although currently impoverished, Cuba is the superpower of the
Caribbean. Despite Jamaica's prominence as a tourist mecca, people are
fully cognizant that the day may be drawing near when Cuba, finally rid of
Castro and his ilk, will
offer serious competition for the American-tourist dollar.
Prudently, the Jamaican hotel, tourist, and business sectors already have begun preparing for that inevitability. This probably explains the peacemaking overtures of Castro's former nemesis, Edward Seaga, leader of the business-oriented Jamaica Labor Party and a former prime minister. After winning the 1980 general election, Seaga kept his vow to deport the Cuban ambassador and to close the Cuban Embassy. He also supported the American-led Grenada invasion in 1983. Ronald Reagan rewarded Seaga by approving the Caribbean Basin Initiative to benefit Jamaica.
Another reason, however, is that times have changed. Seaga is fighting to remain relevant in Jamaican politics. He is in the wilderness of the opposition after a second miserable defeat in the general elections last year. He is also on ``vacation'' from his party, over a dispute about participation in the imminent Parish Council elections, and may lose his position.
Prime Minister Percival Patterson's behavior, however, defies logical rationalization. In welcoming Castro to Jamaica, Patterson opted to mimic the 1970s' antics of his former leader, the deceased Prime Minister Michael Manley. Though an Oxford-trained lawyer, Patterson has uttered gibberish about the U.S. refusal to trade with Cuba, ``contravening Cuba's sovereignty.'' Last time I checked, a sovereign nation such as the United States has a right to refuse to trade with other nations.
Jamaicans regret the necessity of this action but also support its objective: to end Castro's tyranny.
Copyright © 1998 The Miami Herald